Footwear



July 18, 1944.

J. J. JAKOSKY FOOTWEAR Filed July 9, 1941 Patented July 18, 1944 This inventionrelates. toan impIOVementin footwearjand is of special value for military and athletic purposes since it provides the Vproper arch support necessary for long marches and other activities with Acontinual foot strain.

Various types of :flexible soles haver been designed, usually ofxmonolithic constructionlthat are contouredv to give comfortable support to the foot when standing upon a flat surface, but ob- -viously can give `no* support when stepping, -due to the flexible nature ofv thefsole which yields Awhen any Ypressureis appliedat-the arch.' Such devices cannot oifer the much needed-support when marching,`running, or' stepping.-

In action,the foot comes almost into straight vline with 'the leg, but when vsettling uponthe groundit bends to kseepvfflat with the ground. A

series of arches form' the symmetry of the foot, the function ofA these arches being that of weight bearing. The live arches of the foot converge on'the heel; the toes being flying buttresses to them. 3 The' b alls of the foot form a transverse arch.V Thefnner arches of the foot are successively highergforming half of a transverse arch whose completion isin the lopposite foot.V One purpose 'of-this invention isto provide a foot support that will maintain-asubstantially uniform support for-the 'arch of thelfootin vboth the standing'and stepping 'positionsf"` j Another purpose of this invention to provide afoot support or shoe solethatissubstantiallyv unyieldingin a longitudinal direction between the ball and heel, and flexible betweenthe ball and forward end of the foot. `Another'purpose of the inventionfis to provide a foot; supportthat is `substantially unyieldiri'g in a longitudinal directionand ilexiblev in a transverse direction between the heel and ball of 'the foot, and flexible between the ball andthe forward Anotherzpurpo'se ofthe invention isto provide a foot, support that Substantially unyielding in a longitudinal direction and flexible in a longitudinal direction but substantially unyielding in a transverse directionbetweenthe .ball and the forward 'end of the foot. Y

Another object is to provide avsuppo-rt typeof sole thatuwill-allow an. easing of pressure underneath the astragalus bone ofthe heel.

Anothenobject of the invention is to provide a support for,l weak or fallen arches;- thereby minimizingthe distressful condition 4common to those who must begontheir feet. f f,

Another. object is to provideasole that will have the comfort of a flexible sole;gbut the support and protectionof therigidv typeof sole.

Another object is to provide a uniform, lowcost sole by means of molded or'monolithic construction, into which.A is incorporated rigid members for supporting the; foot. i

Referring to the sheet of drawings: v 1 Figure 1 is a'bottom view; of a-preferreddesign ofasole. Figure 2 is alongitudinal. cross-*section along the line A-A' of Figure 1. `Figure 3 is aftransverse cross-section along the line B-Bof Figure '1. Figure 4 is a' transverse cross-section along the line.C CfofiFig'ure l.

lFigure 5 illustrates one type of construction. Theg'eneralvnature of my invention may be understood by the following description` and drawing? f l l' y f V'Referringto Figure 1-:1A`substantially rigid portion orsupporting memberof the sole extends from -the heel toa'transverse line 5-5' near the ball -of the'foot! and a flexibleportion extends forward of this line to thev toes. In the preferred construction,lthe` supporting portion` of thesole comprises a series of longitudinal ridges orvstructural members`41,'4z, '43, etc., terminating substantially on the lin'e-5'-5.v The=pos`ition of `this lineV i's-best determinedby'experimentation in order to obtain the desired arch supporting-action as will-be'described later. .2For proper traction and safety,ll and to lincreasenexibility; the...sole portion forward of line 15-5 is comprisedof a seriesof transverse ridges.` I Figure 2 shows-a longitudinal section along the line A-A of Figure-1.- The substantially rigid support comprises a-structuralmember l2, extending `from the heel substantially to the line 5- 5. The lower side-l'rfzjof this-support member maybe exposed, asshown in the drawing or it may Vbe :wholly imbedded" with vthe rubber ridgeldz.

" A .good bond 'must be obtainedl between the well:;known processes: If the. support members' areof fabric or other porous material, they! may be Ysubjected to impregnation W'lthrubber or wetting .solutions prior to lvulcanzation.ofi` the sole.;A The supporting member may comprisefa 'single piece! of rigid or substantially rigid materialex-'l By proper proportioning of the relative lengths!" i together with the proper positioningrof the line,V

of the support members 41, 42, 43, etc., as shown;

of flexure -5, the'major lifting action can be made to take place on the inside portion of the arch, where it is most needed. In a normalfoot,V

substantially no lifting should take place along the outside members as 44. '1. 1 Y u The support member may be made of ahollow section,to conserverubber and to decrease weight. A satisfactory design uses a hollow plastic rectangular shapedsection, with 3/64 inch wall and of such size in relation to slot and rubber section as to provide a 1% wall of. rubber on..the sides and 1/8" or more, wall on the bottom of the `section. This construction is illustrated in Figure 5, wherein the molded sole 6 encompasses the hollow sections|01,l02,etc. l v Y l supplementing thev lifting action ofthe support member is a differential movementy ofthe soft rubber sole, as shown bythe arrow in Figure 2, which further increases the height of theifarch when stepping. 'This Afeature is governed by the thicknessk of soft rubber above the fulcrum" or hinge 22, etc. A The support members may be made*l integral with, or. terminate at a support memberpositioned underneath the heel.` This member is soshaped as to allow a resilient `portion (preferablyvgair space) to be located at the point Where the astragalus bears on the sole, as indicatedgat l'. Thus, I have shown the intermediate support members lzand la as located wholly forward of the posi-` tion at which the astragalus bears, while thesupport members l1 and I4 adjacentthe respective sides of the sole extend. rearward beyond such position.^ mi

, Figure V3; is a; simplified cross-section' taken along the line'B-B' `of Figure 1.V The longitu-V dinal support membersare showni at I1, l2, etc., and the transverse support members. by the dotted lines at 91. 'Ihe upper portion of the sole .61 is contoured tot thel Iunderside of -the foot. f

Forward ofthe line 5-,5 the sole may be flexible in all directions, as would normallyV be the case for moldedor vulcanized soles. Ihave found however, that such flexible-construction lis a strain and subjects the foot vto bruises 4when :marching over small rocks and similar irregular terrain.`

This condition maybe remedied, however, byfso thetransverse ridges .of the forwardportion ofthe S013-L In thejonstruction shown in Figs. and

4, the vertical dimensionof each of the longitu dinal support members I1, l2, etc., and of each of the transverse support members 91, 92, etc., is materially .greater than the horizontal dimension thereof in a direction transverse to its length.

When stepping, the forward portion of the sole will ilex and allow full comfort in walking, while transverse bending of the sole is prevented by the transverse supportfmembers, with resultant protectionfto the foot in irregular terrain The construction of the upper portion l2, of a shoe utilizing this improved sole is substantially giizsimilar to that of practically all shoes. It is most desirable that the upper and the instep portion or band around the ankle are adjustable and capable of being made a snug or firm t over the instep in order to lift the support member upward with each-step. This lifting action, combined with the pivoting and differential action on, and at 6', as

previously described, allows the necessary increase inarch height when stepping.

Stepping may be defined as any bending of the foot at the ball joint or forward end of the metatarsus bones as when walking, maching, standing on tiptoe, or otherwise supporting the whole or partial weight of the body on the ball or forward end of the foot. Standing may be defined as the normal position of the foot when resting upon a floor or other flat surface and with the body in a normal upright position with the weight on both feet. 4 The ball of the foot refers to the transverse lineof exure along the joints on the forward end of the metatarsal bones.

I have described the preferred forms of my in- Vention, but I do not Wish to be limited to the specific disclosures herein made, but claim as my invention, al1 modifications of construction, de-

'sign and ,method Aas fall Within the scope and spirit of the inventiondisclosed herein.

I claim:v Y

1. A sole for footwear of proper contour to supportthe arch directly from the floor when standing, incorporating a support member positioned underneaththe heel and arch of the foot and extending in a substantially longitudinal direction,

anda series of support members positioned forward ofthe ball of the foot and extending in a substantially transverse direction.

'2. A molded' sole for footwear, of proper contour to support the varch directly fromv the floor when standingincorporating a series, of support memb'ers'positioned' underneath the heel and arch of the foot and "extending in a substantially longitudinal direction, and' another series ofsupport membershpositioned forward of the ball of the foot and, extending in a substantially transverse direction'. L v

3. A sole'f'orfootwear; including in combination a 'support' vmember 'positioned' underneath the'heel andarch, said support member comprising a plurality. of longitudinally extending hollow membersimbedded in said sole. I

4. A sole as in claim 3 in which said longitudinally extending members are formed with different' lengths, the member of greatest length being vpositioned adjacent the inside edge of said sole.

I 5. A sole forfootwear, including in combination means underneath the heel and arch portion of said sole rendering'l the after portion of'said sole rigid i'n a2longitudinal'direction, and means rendering the `forward portion of said sole rigid in a transverse direction, there being a flexible portion joining said after and forwardportions.

. 6. Asole forfoot'wear, including in combination a support member positioned underneath the heel and arch, said support member comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending members embedded in said sole, each of said members having a vertical dimension materially greater than its transverse dimension.

7. A sole for footwear, including in combination a support member positioned underneath the heel and arch, said support member comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending members embedded in said sole, said members being made of material substantially rigid in their longitudinal direction and being formed with diiferent lengths, the member of greatest length being positioned adjacent the inside edge of said sole.

8. A sole for footwear of proper contour to support the arch directly from the oor when standing, incorporating a support member positioned underneath the heel and arch of the foot and extending in a substantially longitudinal direction,

and a support member positioned forward of the ball of the foot and extending in a substantially transverse direction.

9. In footwear of the character described, a sole of flexible material, and a plurality of longitudinally extending support members embedded in said sole and positioned beneath the heel and arch of the wearer, said support members including a member adjacent each side ofthe sole extending rearward beyond the position where the astragalus bone of the wearer bears thereon and also including intermediate members located wholly forwardly of said position.

10. A sole for footwear formed to provide a plurality of spaced longitudinally extending ridges positioned underneath the heel and arch of the foot and a plurality of spaced transversely extending ridges positioned forward of the ball of the foot. f

11. A sole for footwear formed to provide a plurality of spaced longitudinally extending ridges positioned underneath the heel and arch of the foot and. a plurality of spaced transversely extending ridges positioned forward of the ball of the foot, said sole incorporating a, plurality of longitudinally extending support members embedded within the respective longitudinally extending ridges and a plurality of transversely extending support members embedded within the respective transversely extending ridges. i

JOHN J. JAKOSKY. 

